Bullet-Lead Analysis: No Longer A Smoking Gun

Testing the chemical composition of bullets was thought to be a way to match bullets to their source, allowing the FBI to link bullets to suspects, much as it uses blood type to link evidence to an individual. Accepted as evidence for 30 years in criminal cases, bullet-lead analysis led to many convictions. However, scientific studies starting in 2001 have shown that FBI courtroom testimony about bullet lead is flawed:

SOURCE: National Academy of Sciences report, FBI documents, research of former FBI metallurgist William Tobin | By Laura Stanton The Washington Post - November 17, 2007